Subaru Promotion Question

[BRH]

Today, I received a letter from the dealer where I bought my 2001 Forester. It contained an offer which I find extremely hard to believe......

It's called the "Exclusive Trade-In Assistance Program", good thru 6/15/04. It says that "any customer trading in a 1996-2002 Subaru model on a like or upgraded 2003/2004 Subaru will receive 100% of the base model MSRP when new (as provided by N.A.D.A.)". Am I reading this right? Are they saying that, if I bought my 2001 Forester for $20,000, they will give me $20,000 as a trade-in on a 2003-2004 Forester (or higher model)? Of course, they say that your trade-in "must be in safe operating condition, with normal wear and tear and free of paint or collision work" and. they will make deductions for mileage. But even this results in a 2000 or 3000 deduction, this sounds too good to be true.

Has anyone else gotten this letter? What's the catch?

Bert

 

[Alan (2)]

The catch is in the fine print where they can deduct anywhere from $.10 to $.55 per mile. Guess which one they'll use. If you drive 10,000 miles per year, that's $5500 per year. This is 2004, so they will be deducting up to $11,000 on a 2002. In most cases, it probably works out to a normal trade-in value.

 

[BRH]

Aah..... I took that to mean EXCESSIVE mileage, and wondered what they deemed normal mileage. Now this makes sense.... The usual dealer scam.

Thanks!

 

[David Betts]

Aah..... I took that to mean EXCESSIVE mileage, and wondered what they deemed normal mileage. Now this makes sense.... The usual dealer scam.

It is not a 'scam' atall. It is a perfectly reasonable trade-in offer which may or may not work in your favour. You should always check the market value of your car before getting a trade-in offer anyway. More often than not, you will do better on a private sale... and get a bigger discount on your new car if you have nothing to trade. As always, do your homework. If you get ripped off, it's probably your fault <g>.

David Betts

 

[Mort Shuman]

I saw the same thing, and thought it sounded too good to be true. Then I read the part about taking off the $ due to mileage, and it made more sense. I have an 02 TS Wagon, and for a few minutes, I had myself trading it in for an 04 WRX...but it just doesn't make sense to do so. Financially, that is!

By the way, I'm in Maryland...

Mort

 

[BRH]

"Scam" was probably too strong a word. "Come-on" is probably more like it.

 

[null]

Yeah, anything to get you in the showroom. Oh Mr. Smith I see you touched up a tiny rock chip well that qualifies as paint work so we'll have to deduct a grand.

Funny, side story: My brother was selling his 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. He had it in the paper. He gets a call from a guy who says he'll take it. Sight unseen, full asking price. My brother says o.k. when do you want to pick it up. The guys asks if he can drop it off at the XXX dealership when he trades-it in for his new Pontiac. What? Yeah they guy says, I'm the used car salesman at XXX and I'll give you full trade-in value for the car if you buy a new car, blah, blah, blah. My brother told the guy no deal he wants to sell the car not trade it in. My brother being a accountant quickly figured out that the guy would have scammed him out of about a grand.